Séamus Holden 🔬🦠🧫

#Archaeasky #Microsky #FtsZ

Using super-resolution microscopy to investigate the mechanistic principles of bacterial cell wall remodelling at University of Warwick on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - Using super-resolution microscopy to investigate the mechanistic principles of bacterial cell wall remodelling at University of Warwick, listed on FindAPhD.com

PhD project available in my lab. Email me with CV if interested
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
#microsky #bioimaging

Thanks for the invite, really looking forward to it!

🚀🔬 Announcing #IMS2026 at @itqbnova.bsky.social! We're assembling a #LifeSciences #Microscopy symposium packed with ✨ speakers and 🧑‍🔬 workshops. All about imaging cells with photons, electrons and AI! If you love microscopy, you need to be here. Join us on March 19!
ims2026.itqbnovacommunity.org

Letting AI anywhere near my writing is a big line in the sand for me. No thank you.

Polymyxin B lethality requires energy-dependent outer membrane disruption - Nature Microbiology The antibiotic polymyxin B requires bacterial metabolic activity to cause sufficient damage to the outer membrane to access the inner membrane, which it permeabilizes via an energy-independent mechanism to kill the cell.

C̳H̳E̳C̳K̳ ̳I̳T̳ ̳O̳U̳T̳

Spectacular atomic force microscopy time course studies from Carolina Borrelli et al. in Nature Microbiology show how polymyxin drugs (like colistin) cause blebbing and shedding of the Gram-negative bacterial outer membrane

It looks almost like the bacilli 🦠 caught smallpox then died

Thrilled to share that our article in @jofmicroscopy.bsky.social is now accessible online and as open access! If you wonder how to start the analysis of your images, we propose a decision tree to help identify suitable methods. Just follow the link(s)...

#imageanalysis #bioimaging

#MicroSky

One-shot design of functional protein binders with BindCraft - Nature BindCraft, an open-source, automated pipeline for de novo protein binder design with experimental success rates of 10–100%, leverages AlphaFold2 weights to generate binders with nanomolar affinity without the need for high-throughput screening.

BindCraft: an AlphaFold2-powered de novo protein binder design tool 🧬✨
Tested in some bacterial systems too! Designs so far are short peptides or mini-domains. Looking forward to long/full protein design ahead! 🧪 #microsky
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Dual CRISPRi-seq for genome-wide genetic interaction studies identifies key genes involved in the pneumococcal cell cycle Dénéréaz et al. introduce dual CRISPRi-seq, a broadly applicable method to chart gene-gene interactions across whole genomes. Applying it to the pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae, they uncovered over ...

And the crispri genetic interaction screen 👏💫🤯 #microsky from J-W Veening lab. Dual CRISPRi-seq for genome-wide genetic interaction studies identifies key genes involved in the pneumococcal cell cycle: Cell Systems www.cell.com/cell-systems...

A load-bearing function for the cytoplasmic membrane of Escherichia coli The structural integrity of bacterial cells is traditionally attributed to the peptidoglycan cell wall, and more recently to the outer membrane, with the cytoplasmic membrane assumed to be mechanicall...

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

#microsky

Dual transposon sequencing profiles the genetic interaction landscape in bacteria Gene redundancy complicates systematic characterization of gene function as single-gene deletions may not produce discernible phenotypes. We report dual transposon sequencing (dual Tn-seq), a platform...

Dual transposon sequencing profiles the genetic interaction landscape in bacteria | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

A guide to single-particle tracking - Nature Reviews Methods Primers Single-particle tracking is a method for analysing different motion behaviours of individual proteins and protein complexes in live cells. This Primer outlines the experimental setup and labelling tec...

Really enjoying reading this primer on single particle tracking #microscopy by @svanteeffelen.bsky.social and colleagues www.nature.com/articles/s43... (pdf on Sven's website)

#MicroSky yeah, cable bacteria 🤗

Exciting to see our protein binder design pipeline BindCraft published in its final form in @Nature ! This has been an amazing collaborative effort with Lennart, Christian, @sokrypton.org, Bruno and many other amazing lab members and collaborators.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The sun cast incredible crespuscular rays during last night's saffron hued sunset.

Bay Ridge, Brooklyn

you know the chaperones that 𝘌. 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘪 has at its disposal, don' you? GroEL/GroES, DnaK/DnaJ/GrpE, Trigger Factor (TF), ClpB, Hsp33 and Spy... but do you have the ribosome on your checklist? you should! 👇

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#CryoEM #CryoET #TeamTomo #MicroSky

Come and work with us in beautiful Bath.

Frontiers | MinD proteins regulate CetZ1 localization in Haloferax volcanii

🚨 New paper alert! 🚨

MinD is famously known for positioning FtsZ at mid-cell in bacteria

In our study, myself and @iduggin.bsky.social found that MinD homologues in Haloferax volcanii influence the localisation of CetZ1, a homologue of FtsZ and tubulin

#Archaeasky #Microsky

A diagram cross-section of the Earth's crust under the ocean and land, showing surface biospheres cycling carbon, deep geological processes above 120 C, and the deep biosphere making methane which enters the ocean via cold seeps. CREDIT: Verena Heuer, for Marum (Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at Universitat Bremen)

*15%* of all the biomass on Earth is buried deep in the crust.

70-90% of all bacterial (and archaeal) biomass is found at depths from a few meters to 10 km below the soil line.

We can call these deep denizens: 'INTRATERRESTRIALS'.

Let's talk about the Deep Biosphere.

(🧑‍🎨: Verena Heuer, Marum)

Going to a conference and hope someone posts about your talk? Make it easy for the posters!!

Tips:
1. Include your handle at beginning and end
2. Make clear what is published/not
3. Have a conclusions slide with key message
4. Highlight new preprint or publication if relevant

#AcademicSky 🦠🧪🧬

They exist! Please tell the authors that when you review such papers 😊

this book everythingistb.com 🦠🧪 #Tuberculosis

Optical Microscopy Support Specialist | John Innes Centre An exciting opportunity has arisen for an Optical Microscopy Support Specialist to join the Bioimaging Platform at the John Innes Centre.

VACANCY - We’re seeking an Optical Microscopy Support Specialist to join our Bioimaging Platform, to help train users on light microscopes, collaborate on imaging projects and provide technical support.

www.jic.ac.uk/vacancies/op...

Closing date - 11 August 2025
Contract - Full time, indefinite

#EUProject | #BioImaging & AI

➡️ BioImage Model Zoo by @ai4life.bsky.social is a platform for #AI models in biological imaging

➡️ To find out about the training courses and tools available to help you use the platform correctly for your area of study, visit: www.embrc.eu/project/ai4life/

🌊🧪🦑

Integrative structural biology of the penicillin-binding protein-1 from Staphylococcus aureus, an essential component of the divisome machinery Keywords: Divisome, Staphylococcus aureus, X-ray crystal structure, SAXS in-solution structure, Molecular dynamics simulations, PBP1, PASTA domains, Antibiotics inhibition, Peptidoglycan binding

Very interesting paper on structural biology and biochemistry of Staph aureus FtsW:PBP1 (PBP1 is the divisome bPBP partner). Amongst other things, looks like some very interesting results on interaction of PBP1 PASTA domains with peptidoglycan pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC... #MicroSky

Nature Microbiology put together a good research briefing on this Rudner lab bacterial turgor regulation/ c-di-AMP paper.
A supportive quote from my peer review comments is included.
#microsky #bioimaging
rdcu.be/euQln

I checked in with GraceBio. They are in process of moving eneFrame-like adhesive square frames from prototype to manufacturing. Once this is done they will be able to give us pricing and product codes.

Are you looking for a postdoc?
I will be looking for 2-4 people after the summer to join the lab !!
Do not hesitate to reach out and disseminate !!

Cyclic-di-AMP modulates cellular turgor in response to defects in bacterial cell wall synthesis - Nature Microbiology Brogan et al. uncover a signalling pathway in which levels of the nucleotide second messenger c-di-AMP increase in response to defects in cell wall synthesis. This regulatory pathway decreases turgor ...

Really cool paper on turgor regulation in Bacillus subtilis www.nature.com/articles/s41...